Gypsy Moth

Effective Jan. 1, the regulation of certain parts of Virginia experiencing gypsy moth infestation has been extended, as approved by the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Gypsy moth is now established in Northern Virginia, on the Eastern Shore, in Tidewater, Northern Neck and parts of Central Virginia. The pest continues to spread southward through the state by natural migration. The regulated areas covered in the gypsy moth quarantine will now add the entire counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Essex, Isle of Wight, James City, King & Queen, King William, New Kent, Prince George, Southampton, Surry and Sussex, as well as the entire cities of Colonial Heights, Franklin, Hopewell, Petersburg, Richmond, Suffolk and Williamsburg.

In the pitched battle raging on the Whitemans' land, Bob would wield the blow torch and Sue the vacuum cleaner. The couple spent much of last spring in a desperate fight against the gypsy moth caterpillars that had denuded the stately walnut trees at their Botetourt County home. Bob Whiteman took a blow torch to the tree trunks, incinerating the pests, while Sue vacuumed scores of them off the eaves of their home. "We were sick, actually," Sue Whiteman said. "It got to be a little stomach-wrenching when you got to that quantity of creepy, crawly, hairy caterpillars."

The Virginia Cooperative Extension Service would like your help in monitoring the gypsy moth again this year. Monitoring simply involves placing a burlap band on one of your landscape trees, preferably an oak, and checking it two to three times a week through June, for the presence of the caterpillar. Also, a male moth trap can be hung in your yard and the number of male moths within it counted at the end of summer. Those interested in monitoring the gypsy moth should call the Newport News office at 591-4838.

Traveling in his pickup, Bob Grace is heading out to find his enemy, now fast asleep preparing for its next attack. He has heard reports of sightings from Shenandoah County residents and is heading toward Strasburg. There may be thousands of them out there; he's just not sure yet. What he does know is the creatures that emerge from these egg masses are ugly, hungry, wasteful and dangerous. It could be a setup for a "B" horror movie, but this predator is not from outer space.

There's a quote I've always enjoyed that goes something like this: "Man should spend less time battling man, and more time battling insects." It seemed true the first time I read it, and even more so now. In that spirit, the Peninsula area Extension Service offices are offering people the opportunity to take up arms against an insect destined to become a major pest: the gypsy moth. The gypsy moth has been steadily eating its way down from New England along the Eastern Seaboard since the late 1800s.

A very successful gypsy moth monitoring program was conducted in 1990 throughout Isle of Wight County by a volunteer committee who had invested interest in protecting our forests and safeguarding this valuable resource as well as keeping the public informed and the cost to the county as low as possible. Two hundred gypsy moth traps were erected throughout the county at approximately 2-mile intervals to monitor the flight and presence of the moths. None of these traps indicated moth levels high enough to conduct egg mass surveys.

The county has discovered gypsy moth adults and caterpillars in the median strip of Route 134 in Tabb and will spray to kill the leaf-eating pests this morning. The passing lanes on both sides of Route 134 between Victory Boulevard and Big Bethel Road will be closed from 9 to 11 a.m. while spraying is done, said John Carl, York's information officer. County workers will use an Air Force "mist blower" to spray the insecticide, said Tom Gallagher, superintendent of mosquito control.

The gypsy moth, whose hairy caterpillars have stripped the leaves from much of Northern Virginia's forests, is spreading through the southern half of York County at an alarming rate, officials said Friday. "It's a real worry," said county spokesman John Carl. "We could be defoliated in a few years." Last year, county officials found moths at three locations. This summer, they found moths at 21 sites, with up to five caterpillars at each, said Joe Gallagher, the county's superintendent of drainage and mosquito control.

Virginia is expected to maintain its ranking as the No. 1 favorite eating spot for the gypsy moth. The pest, which defoliated about 748,000 acres last year, is expected to reach the million-acre mark by the year 2000. The line of this damage keeps getting longer - extending from Highland County south to Rockbridge, Amherst and Buckingham counties and east to the Atlantic Ocean. The gypsy moth is an insect that prefers to feed on the leaves of oak trees. After repeated defoliations, the oak trees die. "The damage will be visible," says Williams Ravlin, Virginia Cooperative Extension entomologist, who works with affected localities across the state.

The gypsy moth is alive and flourishing in the state of Virginia. Last year over 748,000 acres were defoliated in the state, mostly in the northern and western parts, by this nasty little pest. As you can see, the gypsy moth is in the Tidewater area and is expected to grow in numbers over the next three to five years. During a major infestation, residents could face situations where caterpillars would cover entire walls of houses and outbuildings, decks and patios could be made slippery by squashed caterpillars and frass, caterpillar excrement, could fall and stick to people's hair, clothing and cars.

The Virginia Cooperative Extension Service would like your help in monitoring the gypsy moth again this year. Monitoring simply involves placing a burlap band on one of your landscape trees, preferably an oak, and checking it two to three times a week through June, for the presence of the caterpillar. Also, a male moth trap can be hung in your yard and the number of male moths within it counted at the end of summer. Those interested in monitoring the gypsy moth should call the Newport News office at 591-4838.

On a hillside two hours from Washington, the densely packed green forest is tinged with gold, orange and red - a beautiful setting for what has become a battle between environmentalists and the federal government. The U.S. Forest Service wants to allow the logging of 165 acres in this roadless area of the George Washington National Forest in Virginia, saying it would clear trees destined to be killed by gypsy moths. Logging roads are prohibited in this area, so the timber would be lifted out by helicopter.

If you see a man hanging what looks like green and clear plastic ornaments in trees throughout Newport News, no, he's not decorating the trees. Phil Derrah, the city's new gypsy moth program coordinator, is trying to trap the insidious gypsy moth that blights trees and destroys forests in a matter of days. Since May, Derrah has been placing traps on trees throughout the city to determine the extent of the infestation and to make recommendations to municipal officials on how the infestation can be minimized.

The gypsy moth is alive and flourishing in the state of Virginia. Last year over 748,000 acres were defoliated in the state, mostly in the northern and western parts, by this nasty little pest. As you can see, the gypsy moth is in the Tidewater area and is expected to grow in numbers over the next three to five years. During a major infestation, residents could face situations where caterpillars would cover entire walls of houses and outbuildings, decks and patios could be made slippery by squashed caterpillars and frass, caterpillar excrement, could fall and stick to people's hair, clothing and cars.

Virginia is expected to maintain its ranking as the No. 1 favorite eating spot for the gypsy moth. The pest, which defoliated about 748,000 acres last year, is expected to reach the million-acre mark by the year 2000. The line of this damage keeps getting longer - extending from Highland County south to Rockbridge, Amherst and Buckingham counties and east to the Atlantic Ocean. The gypsy moth is an insect that prefers to feed on the leaves of oak trees. After repeated defoliations, the oak trees die. "The damage will be visible," says Williams Ravlin, Virginia Cooperative Extension entomologist, who works with affected localities across the state.

An attractive flowering invader, sold in Virginia to beautify lawns and gardens, threatens native plants and animals that live in the state's freshwater wetlands, say several public and private organizations that want to ban the sale of the plant. Purple loosestrife is "a plant version of the gypsy moth," the insect scourge of hardwood forests that invaded Virginia from the Northeast within the last decade, according to Stephen Capel of the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

PLACES The Virginia State Library and Archives and the Virginia State Historial Records Advisory Board have received a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to conduct conservation and preservation surveys. Funding is available for 20 conservation studies in 1989 and 20 in 1990. The studies will be conducted by the staff of the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, Philadelphia. There is no cost for the survey for the participating institution.

Gypsy moths are back and the Mathews Extension Office is looking for a few volunteers to help in the monitoring of the gypsy moth population in the county. Gypsy moths have four developmental stages - egg, larva - caterpillar, pupa - cocoon, and moth. The destructive stage is the one that occurs in the months of April and May - the caterpillar stage. Caterpillars enter the pupal or cocoon stage late in June or early in July, emerging from their dark-brown pupal cases in 10 to 14 days.

Peninsula residents should check their trees for coin-sized patches that look and feel like swatches of beige felt. The patches, no bigger than a quarter, are "egg masses" for the leaf-chomping gypsy moth, and Newport News officials are asking some residents to check their yards for the pests. "You really have to go to each tree and look from the ground to the eye level fairly closely," said Jeanette Smith, the city's gypsy moth coordinator. Smith has identified 13 areas throughout the city as the most likely spot for egg masses.